Walt Whitman Mausoleum @ The Harleigh Cemetery - Camden, NJ
N 39° 55.631 W 075° 05.626
18S E 491987 N 4419679
Whitman's body was taken to Harleigh Cemetery after doctors came to the dining room where he was laid out & removed his brain. He has been interned in this mausoleum/tomb ever since. This is the most famous resident in this cemetery.
Waymark Code: WM70FG
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/14/2009
Views: 7
Walt Whitman is buried in Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, New Jersey, USA in a tomb of his own design. Thousands of adoring fans and poet scholars and anyone else just interested in history and culture visit this fascinating place where not only Whitman, but 6 of his relatives and kin are also interred here. Some leave pennies on the hinges of the protective iron gate. The mausoleum is surrounded by mature trees with thick roots. The gray structure has a heavy granite door which is swung open but still more closely protected by an iron gate. Inside, one may peer and see the tombs of six of the Whitman family. In front of the mausoleum is a black, polished memorial to the local poet (see photo).
The Harleigh Cemetery, established in 1885, convinced Whitman to pick a plot here so they could increase business. It worked! After Whitman made his funeral arrangements to be buried here, their business in this working class neighborhood increased dramatically. This may have been the first rural cemetery built in this country.